Jack Ma, the face of Chinese entrepreneurship and the founder of Alibaba Group Holding, has assumed professorships in at least four schools outside mainland China, as he keeps an arm's length from the business empire he created.
Ma, who returned to China last month, has stepped down from his corporate roles and ceded control of Ant Group, the fintech group affiliated with Alibaba. He has also largely refrained from public activities since a controversial speech in Shanghai in late 2020 - where he said Chinese banks had a "pawnshop" mentality - that led to Ant's mega-IPO being called off at the last minute.
